


Borrowed Happiness

by APastandFutureNerd



Series: HanniBelle Stories [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Anxiety, Comfort/Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Flashbacks, Fluff, Food is Not People, Hannibal (TV) Season/Series 04, Murder Wives go vegan, Oneshot, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, Vegan Alana, Vegan Margot, dealing with the aftermath, veganism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-22 14:10:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22350793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APastandFutureNerd/pseuds/APastandFutureNerd
Summary: Margot and Alana have found peace in exile, even though every day has been borrowed since the escape of the murder husbands and a shadow looms over them. That doesn’t keep Margot from spoiling her family and enjoy the precious domesticity they share together.And then there’s a letter from a certain someone.A short glimpse into the Verger-Bloom’s life after the events of The Wrath of The Lamb with Margot making vegan breakfast for her family.
Relationships: Alana Bloom/Margot Verger
Series: HanniBelle Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608910
Comments: 12
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nicestofthedamned](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicestofthedamned/gifts), [Pia_Pia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pia_Pia/gifts), [CassieRaven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassieRaven/gifts), [NicNack4U](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicNack4U/gifts).



> I'm a vegan and can picture Alana and Margot fully well changing the Verger Meat Packing Industries into something else :)
> 
> Writing so much about cannibalism and meat made me push my vegan agenda a little bit ;)

The birds are chirping outside, even though it’s still early and dark. Winter has yet to say goodbye and hand the reins to springtime. Margot’s eyelids flutter open and she looks at the buzzing and beeping digital alarm clock. It's 6 am. Another borrowed day is about to start and she knows it but doesn’t want to think about Will and Hannibal being on the run and the sharp Damocles sword hovering above their family at this moment. She slowly tilts her head to the right side. Alana is still asleep. Quiet soft snores escape her beautiful luscious mouth Margot loves to kiss so often.

Margot smiles at seeing her fast asleep because it is not always the case. Not since they know that Will Graham has joined Hannibal Lecter and run away with him. It has devastated Alana more than it has hit Margot for some reason. Maybe it’s because Alana has held on to the stubborn belief in Will’s moral compass and hatred for Hannibal. Besides, he had always been an old friend even though they have been distant and not in touch in the last few years before the incident with the Tooth Fairy. Well, Margot doesn't believe him and never has considered Will to be innocent and thoroughly righteous.

She caresses her cheek as Alana whimpers quietly and Margot intensifies her efforts, wondering what is going on in her unconscious mind. Probably the same horrific nightmare about Hannibal butchering her or Morgan.Margot straightens in bed, bends forward and kisses her pretty, rosy lips. “Shh, darling”, Margot soothes her. “All is well. Don’t be afraid.” A smile appears on Alana’s face even though she is asleep or maybe already half-awake. It is time for her to get up as their workday starts at 8.30,but from the bags under Alana’s eyes, Margot deduces Alana hasn’t slept through the night. Again. She knows when Alana sleeps and when she doesn't. Margot never says something, knowing how difficult it must be to deal with the aftermath. She is just glad that Alana does now and therefore decides to not wake her.

Ruffling through Alana’s wavy, messy hair, she pulls back the duvet, leaves the warm, comfy bed and puts on her silver morning gown. Margot heads out to check on Morgan in the room next to them. Even though she is aware that there is security in their new mansion everywhere and that the murder husbands won’t be paying them a visit soon, as severely injured they were for sure from what she deduced from the news gathered, her heart still feels lighter when she sees Morgan sleeping peacefully, babbling in his sleep. He’s still there and alive. 

She kisses Morgan’s forehead, then sneaks down the spiraling stairs without making much noise. Through the huge glass windows in the living room, she gets a glimpse of the green Verger logo; of their new medium-sized factory producing plant-based products here in Zurich, Switzerland. It is a small premise - far less impressive than the old Muskrat farm and the Verger Estate, but change takes time.

The sight of the flamboyant, green logo and people rushing in and out of the premises on the way to work, makes Margot feel defiant and hopeful for a better future. It reminds her they possess something the murder husbands don’t - compassion for all living beings and humans in the world. A moral compass and decency. Slaughter and murder are no longer tolerated here. A posthumous fuck you to her dad and her brother.

She smiles, encouraged by the view on the building and the logo and closes the curtain again. Margot feels her stomach growl and retreats into the kitchen. From the kitchen drawers and the fridge, she fetches the ingredients for vegan pancakes and whips up a batter using the egg replacement they have developed together with some creative employees.

The smell of the sizzling pancake must be so alluring that Alana and Morgan have woken up by the sheer scent alone. She hears them walking down the stairs, making their way into the kitchen. Smiling, she places pancake after pancake on the plates.

“Morning”, Alana says in her sleepy voice, lingering at the threshold. Her hair is a mess, is disheveled even though she has tied her hair in a bun now. She is dressed in her long crimson dressing gown. She has wrapped it tightly shut for the sake of Morgan, but Margot knows how revealing the cleavage is in reality. 

“Good morning”, Margot replies with a smile, letting her eyes rest on the beautiful silhouette of her wife. She is already looking forward to intimacy this afternoon or tonight. 

“Morning, Mama”, Morgan yawns, resting his head against Alana’s hips. 

Alana takes some steps forward, places her arms around her wife’s waist, then presses her lips against her cheeks a few times. “You’re up early”, she remarks. 

“You too”, Margot chuckles, then offers Alana a plate with a stack of fluffy pancakes, garnished with some fruits and a generous squirt of vegan cream as well as some drizzles of dark chocolate sauce. 

“You didn’t have to get up so early to make us breakfast”, Alana remarks, while absently-minded petting the brown-blonde hair of her son.

"I wanted to spoil you both", Margot replies. "I know you didn't sleep through the night and figured you needed some comfort food."

"You're the best", Alana says but doesn't talk about the cause of her sleep deprivation.

Seeing the luring stacks of pancakes in front of him, Morgan is tempted to dip his finger in the soy cream on top, but Margot gently beats his hands away. “You’ll get your own plate”, Margot laughs, then prepares another plate with a stack of pancakes for him. He loves the vegan bacon their factory produces, so Margot has made him a stack with maple syrup, vegan butter, and delicious crispy seitan bacon. 

She finishes garnishing the plate for Morgan, but just when he wants to eat it right here in the kitchen, Margot tsks again and pulls the plate away.

“Not here in the kitchen, Morgan”, she scolds him, but with a fond smile on her lips. "You know the rules. We are going to sit down together. Eating on the go is not good for your tummy."

Morgan pulls his face into a pout and turns away. “Such an impatient boy you are”, Alana laughs, ruffling through his disheveled hair again. 

“Do you want to have hot cocoa with your pancakes, darling?” Margot asks her pouting son.

Morgan still avoids her gaze but after being offended for a minute or two he gives up his sullen demeanor and nods once or twice. 

A few minutes later she returns with a large, cup of steaming, hot cocoa for Morgan. Alana has prepared coffee for Margot and herself in the meantime and brings the coffee mugs to the table into the living room. They settle down at the table and enjoy their pancake breakfast together.

Morgan is the first to tuck in, smearing a little chocolate sauce on his cheeks when he steals the chocolate-drizzled soy cream from her mummy’s plate. His way of eating is messy. Margot’s smile falters a little as the horrible, unwanted memory of Mason and his chocolate return but she pushes the ghosts of her dark past away. She gaps at her son, scrutinizing his behavior. Morgan does look a little like Mason, he is of his origin after all, but so far he doesn’t take after his deceased father, which is a big relief for them both. He takes more to Alana, possesses empathy and likes to analyze his environment. That's what the kindergarteners keep telling them. They are always expecting horrible incidents, but there has not been a single one. 

“It’s so good”, Alana compliments her, reaching for her hand and caressing it, brushing her digits over her smooth skin.

“Do you like them, too?” She turns her head to Morgan, watching him attentively. 

“They’re amazing, mommy”, Morgan replies. “Can I get another one?” 

“Please?”

Margot raises her eyebrows and chuckles. “You’ve had your share for today”, she tells him. He looks a little disappointed but doesn't protest. “You don’t want to spoil your appetite, Morgan.”

Alana freezes for a second and holds her breath. The words coming out of Margot’s mouth sound just like Hannibal’s. She has his voice inside her head again and Alana clenches her jaw. 

"Go to hell", she tells the smirking cannibal in her mind.

“Sorry”, Margot tells her, feeling she has made Alana uncomfortable by using these words. “Didn’t mean to-“, she starts apologizing, rushing over and rocking Alana in her embrace to ground her.

Alana arches her head back, exhales and manages to control her anxiety thanks to Margot. “Don’t be. I think I'm just getting paranoid”, she remarks and shakes her head, silently scolding herself. “I need to stop myself from being triggered by words.”

Margot cups Alana's face into her hands and brushes her nose against hers. “Don’t think about him.”

Don’t think about them coming to us she wants to say but doesn’t want to upset Alana any further. 

“You’ll get another stack of pancakes, tomorrow”, Margot tells Morgan who still stands there, a little uneasy as the mood has shifted again. “Now, off into the bathroom with you”, she tells him in her honeyed voice. “You don’t want to be late for your friends, do you?”

Morgan’s blue eyes are sparkling with joy. “Yes, mommy.” 

He dashes out of the room and makes his way to his chamber and the bathroom to get dressed and brush his teeth.

“I’ll do the dishes”, Alana says, when Margot carries the dishes into the kitchen. “Can’t let you do all the work. It's the 21st century after all.”

Having cleaned up, Alana and Margot get dressed in a hurry, as they have spent too much time for breakfast. They don't use much makeup, just the basics. They don’t need to anyway as they are the bosses of the company and appearances are not everything to them. The attitude has to be right.

Their lips meet again for some stolen, passionate kisses, before Morgan appears at the threshold again, interrupting their short intimate moment. He’s ready for the kindergarten and more than impatient to go.

Margot watches Morgan get in the black SUV with the bulletproof windows and keeps standing at the door, unmoving until the car gets lost from view. They will never be a normal family but Alana and Margot try their best to give Morgan the best imitation of a normal life they can conjure up. Friends to play with, a normal environment for him to grow up- even though he’s brought in by security in disguise and watched over the whole time.

Walking down the stairs of the mansion towards the black metal gate, Alana and Margot gaze at each other for a moment and smile while gripping their hands tightly. Every single moment is precious to them. But they won’t let Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter taint every aspect of their lives and give them control over everything.

Every happy day is borrowed but they don’t want to think about it. Life is beautiful now.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that day, Alana and Margot return from the long day at the office. It is dark again. Alana cradles Morgan in her arms and ask him how his day at the kindergarten was and cooks him his favourite food - mac and cheese with a sauce made of cashews, potatoes, nutritional yeast and a bit of their own vegan grated cheese. It’s as creamy as the non-vegan version and Morgan devours it within minutes. Checking the mailbox for bills and other important notifications, Margot discovers a white, slightly weather tested envelope in the mailbox - there is no address on the thick parchment paper.

Her stomach clenches and her hands shake when she tears at the envelope in impatience, inadvertently ripping a piece of the upper corner of the letter. Despite the horror and dread flooding through her body, she can’t tear her eyes away from the writing. Her heartbeat slows down when she notices it is not Hannibal Lecter’s handwriting she is holding in her hands. The writing’s messier and sometimes unreadable. It must be Will’s and have been written in a hurry.

_Hello Alana, hello Margot,_

_I read about your successful attempts to transform the Verger Meat Industry into a vegan company and to end the public carnage. You two have my admiration for your courage, although I don’t share your morals and ethics anymore as you might very well know already._

_I’m writing you this because I want to let you know that you have nothing to fear from Hannibal and me as long as I am alive. I made him promise he won’t hurt you. Of course I don’t know how long this truce may last, but I make the very best attempt at surviving the beast and taming it._

_Goodbye._

_Will_

_P.S. Don’t call Jack on me or Hannibal or I have to revoke this agreement. And please don’t tell Molly any of it, if she doesn’t know already. She deserves better than me._

Margot has to blink once or twice and holds her breath as she tries to comprehend what she has been reading.

“Margot?” Alana calls through the house, looking for her, then finally discovers her kneeling in the anteroom. She walks up to her. "What are you doing on the floor, darling?”

Margot gets up, smoothing the wrinkles of her black business suit she wears today and hands her wife the opened letter without a word. Alana’s eyes widen when she reads Will’s letter and gathers the warning given to her.

 _As long as I am aliv_ e.

The sentence is stuck in Alana’s head and she keeps repeating it to herself in disbelief. Alana’s face remains cold and rigid at first, before it loses all tension. Pity fills her eyes. Even though she despises his actions, she feels compassion and grief for Will.

“See?” Margot says with a faint hint of a smile, watching her sideways.“We’re safe.”

She pulls Alana into a tight hug, nuzzling in her neck, inhaling her exquisite perfume.

Alana inhales and exhales in a steady rhythm, applying her own grounding technique. She keeps looking at the letter she is crumpling in her hand until its a ball of paper.

They walk back into the living room to settle on the couch and watch a movie together before Morgan goes to sleep, but Alana’s thoughts stray back to Will.

There’s nothing she could do for Will anymore, as he has made his own decision and she most certainly does not want to call Jack to get involved in his manhunt and break the truce, but she is grateful that Will tries to keep them safe even though he probably won’t be and has become a killer. 

This night, Alana is undisturbed from nightmares - the very first time in weeks. 


End file.
